1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved print-cartridge carriage for holding a print cartridge which has a ledge on a top edge and a plurality of contact pads on a lateral wall for use in ink-jet printers, and, more particularly, to an improved print-carriage in which the print cartridge can be easily removed using only one hand of the user.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In thermal ink-jet printers of the type that use heat to produce air bubbles in order to expel ink-droplets through the nozzles thereof, the print cartridge and the cartridge thereof are typically manufactured in separate integral structures, in that it is desirable that the print cartridge be designed as a disposable cartridge, due to its limited life span.
FIGS. 1 and 3 illustrates a print-cartridge carriage (A) for mounting a print cartridge (B) which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,018, to Pineapple's et al. FIG. 2 illustrates the structure of a print cartridge (B), which is already disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,836, to Ta et al. The print-cartridge carriage of the Pinkerpell's disclosure includes a base support (C), which has a snap-spring (X) disposed at the upper portion thereof and a pair of L-shaped members (D) disposed at the lower portion thereof. The base support further has an interconnect strip (E) which has a plurality of electrically conducting lines (F) built therein for transferring electrical signal generated by a microprocessor, wherein each conducting line (F) terminates on a spring pad (G) provided at the carriage. The base support also includes a bearing (H) for being engaged with a carriage rod of the printer for permitting the carriage to be horizontally movable (not shown in the drawings).
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the print cartridge (B), which includes a ledge (1) and a reference pad (J). The bottom of the carriage is provided with a printhead (K) which has a plurality of nozzles formed therein, through which the ink droplet may inject out onto paper sheets by the heating of specific resisters. The back of the print cartridge (B) is provided with a contact strip (L), which has a plurality of contact pads (M) formed thereon to be engageable with the terminals of the electrically conducting lines of the interconnect strip (E), for transferring electrical signal generated by the microprocessor to the print cartridge, which will cause specific resistors associated with the nozzles to be heated so as to control the injection of the ink-droplets to produce a desired print pattern.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a user may take the reference pad (J) of the print cartridge (B) of the type to be pivotally rested on the L-shaped members (D) to allow the print cartridge (B) to turn about the L-shaped members (D), as showed by arrow-head P1, such that the print cartridge (B) can be locked onto the base support (C) of the carriage (A) by the engagement of the ledge (I) and the snap spring (X). Reversely, the print cartridge (B) may be removed from the base support (C), by applying a moment, the direction of which is reverse to P1.
Although such a carriage allows the ink-jet printers to be used easily by the user, yet the process of removing the print cartridge would require a relatively large force and great care to remove it from the carriage (A) and to avoid the dropping of the print cartridge. As can be seen in some other embodiments, the carriages are further provided with chutes, respectively, to prevent the print cartridge (B) from dropping to the ground.